Found footage films (often labeled “documentaries”) are some of the scariest and most intense kinds of films out there. While this subgenre usually falls under the horror category, it’s not strictly a horror genre and can incorporate science-fiction, drama, comedy, thriller, and family elements as well (Earth to Echo, anyone?).

While we might not touch on every possible found footage genre, we’ve put together our list of the 10 best found footage films for you to check out below. 

1. The Blair Witch Project (1999)

The horror classic that started Hollywood on this found footage craze in the first place. The Blair Witch Project is infamous largely due to its marketing campaign more so than the actual content of the film. The Blair Witch Project was actually promoted as being literal “found footage,” with the three subjects of the documentary all labeled either “missing” or “deceased.” 

As it turned out, it was all a marketing ploy to boost ticket sales and garner some credibility for the independent feature, but that didn’t make the adventures of Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Joshua Lenard any less terrifying. Their search for the fabled Blair Witch turns dark quickly as the trio is attacked by a mysterious and unseen force, ending with grim consequences.

The Blair Witch Project is one of the most famous found footage films for a reason, and to this day still holds up as one of the best.

2. Paranormal Activity & Paranormal Activity 2 (2007, 2010)

If The Blair Witch Project is the most famous found footage film of all time, then the Paranormal Activity series is certainly the biggest found footage franchise ever developed. The first film, Paranormal Activity, was an instant classic that took the found footage concept and intensified it, making it clear that just because you’re asleep in your home doesn’t mean you’re safe from evil.

The first two films in the franchise are unanimously the best, beginning the Paranormal mythology and introducing audiences to both humans and demons who would continue to haunt theaters for years to come. The first film has often been called “the most profitable film ever made” due to its insane return on investment, while the second (which is technically a prequel) has often been praised for its contributions to the mythology (setting up the following sequels, prequels, and spin-offs).

The first two Paranormal Activity films are must-see flicks for any found footage junkie but be warned, you might not sleep through the night.

3. REC (2007)

This Spanish movie (often stylized [•REC]) is a zombie horror flick with a real twist. Following news reporter Ángela Vidal (Manuela Velasco, Holmes & Watson. Madrid Days), the film takes place in an apartment building in Barcelona where a viral outbreak, similar to rabies, begins affecting the building’s occupants, turning them into bloodthirsty cannibals. And if that sounds like a lot, that’s not even the half of it.

REC also explores more religious themes that tie into the origins of the zombie virus, trailing it back to… well, we won’t give it all away. Like most successful foreign films, this one got an American remake, Quarantine, taking out all the religious elements that gave REC some flavor. It also spawned three more films that all tie into one another by the end.

What makes REC unique is its blend of the zombie genre with classic horror movie tropes, all wrapped up in a found footage package.

4. Creep & Creep 2 (2014, 2017)

One of the stranger additions to this list, Creep and Creep 2 are both written by Room 104’s Patrick Brice and Mark Duplass, with Brice sitting in the director’s chair and Duplass front-and-center as a serial killer who lures unsuspecting videographers to their deaths (Brice also co-stars in the first film). This might sound like a plot that might work fine for one film, but two? Believe-it-or-not, it works (there’s even a third film in development).

These psychological horror-comedies(?) do a tremendous job at making the audience feel “wonderfully unsettled” yet unable to avert their gaze. Creep might be the most unsettling of the two, but Creep 2 has its moments (including our lead’s immediate admission of guilt, which puts us on edge right up front). The Creep films are certainly creepy and absolutely worth the watch. What could go wrong?

5. The Sacrament (2013)

Horror director Ti West (The House of the Devil) outdoes himself with The Sacrament, a film largely based on the true events of the Jamestown Massacre of 1978 that took the lives of over 900 people in what they called a “revolutionary suicide.” This film takes those events and puts them through an objective lens. The film was also produced by horror legend Eli Roth (Hostel, Cabin Fever). 

The film follows a group of VICE journalists as they infiltrate a religious commune with one of their co-workers in order to find his sister. They eventually encounter “the Father” (Gene Jones, No Country for Old Men), based on cult leader Jim Jones, who controls just about everyone and everything. What the journalists soon learn is that there are members of Eden Parish who don’t wish to stay, and so begins our heroes’ moral dilemma.

The Sacrament is about what you would expect from any film based on the Jonestown Massacre, yet manages to be a fresh take on cult-related films. The found footage element definitely helps.

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6. V/H/S & V/H/S/2 (2012, 2013)

See more about - The 10 Scariest Horror Movies Of All Time

Anthologies have always been popular, from The Twilight Zone to the most recent American Horror Stories, seeing what a bunch of different filmmakers can do in such a short amount of time has always been a Hollywood staple, and Bloody Disgusting’s V/H/S and its sequel do just that!

Both films use the “frame narrative” technique, which links each of the stories together through found footage VHS tapes. Featuring various horror directors including Adam Wingard (Blair Witch), Joe Swanberg (The Rental), Radio Silence (Ready or Not), Simon Barrett (You’re Next), and The Sacrament’s Ti West, the V/H/S films all tend to take it up a notch.

If you’re not in the mood to watch one big-found footage film, check out V/H/S or V/H/S/2 where you can enjoy a bunch of shorter stories for the same price!

7. Hell House LLC (2015)

Different from some found footage films, Hell House LLC is specifically shot as a documentary as the crew, a bunch of Halloween haunted house creators, investigate what happened on the opening night of Hell House LLC, a haunted tour that takes place in the fictional small town of Abaddon, New York. What unfolds is a terrifying mockumentary sure to keep you up until all hours of the night. 

Part of Hell House LLC’s charm is the haunted house itself, which features all the classic haunted house creatures, masks, and decorations, which only serve to scare the doc crew (and the viewer) more as people, and objects, come and go.

It takes the word spooky to entirely different levels. While Hell House LLC eventually garnered two sequels, Abaddon Hotel and Lake of Fire, the original still reigns supreme.

8. Cloverfield (2008)

Director Matt Reeves (War for the Planet of the Apes), writer Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods), and producer J.J. Abrams (Super 8) proved they’re one of the best filmmaking teams out there when the monster film Cloverfield hit screens back in 2008. Presented as footage from what was “formerly known as Central Park,” the Department of Defense reviews a found camcorder from the event.

Sparking a new horror-less hope into the found footage genre, Cloverfield does its best to present an exciting, world-ending, monster flick through a new lens, and it does a really great job. While Cloverfield would eventually become a franchise (10 Cloverfield Lane is also pretty good), the first film will always be the most visually interesting. Cloverfield is a sci-fi thriller that’s really worth your time if you’ve never seen it.

9. Trollhunter (2010)

A Norwegian dark fantasy found footage “mockumentary,” Trollhunter does what very few films have ever done… make trolls look exciting. Written and directed by Norwegian filmmaker André Øvredal (Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark), the film follows a group of film students who set out into the wilderness to capture trolls on camera after learning about a government conspiracy to cover up their existence.

If that sounds outlandish and kind of hilarious to you, then you need to check out Trollhunter. It sounds like something out of a fever dream, and yet it’ll keep you fixated on the possibility of trolls until the end. That and how you can trick out your Land Rover to go and hunt them down…

Trollhunter is an absolute gem of a film that features an exciting mix of unknown actors and Norwegian comedians.

10. Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

Certainly the most controversial film on this list, Cannibal Holocaust is an Italian film about exactly that. Director Ruggero Deodato (who also made a similar film called Jungle Holocaust) was actually arrested on obscenity charges due to the grotesque content of the film, and it was banned in Italy, Australia, and several other countries.

Honestly, the only reason Cannibal Holocaust is truly on this list is because of its notoriety and influence on the found footage genre. The film itself is a little too disturbing for this writer to recommend.